Tredje AP fonden Makes New $1.70 Million Investment in AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ)

Tredje AP fonden acquired a new stake in shares of AZZ Inc. (NYSE:AZZ) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm acquired 22,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,700,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AZZ. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in AZZ by 514.9% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 53,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $4,133,000 after buying an additional 44,800 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of AZZ by 4.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,147,513 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $88,646,000 after acquiring an additional 53,188 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of AZZ by 81,999.5% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 153,526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,860,000 after purchasing an additional 153,339 shares during the period. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in shares of AZZ in the 2nd quarter worth $100,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in AZZ by 20.0% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 47,648 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 7,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.93% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Noble Financial upgraded shares of AZZ from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 11th. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of AZZ in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Baird R W upgraded AZZ to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. B. Riley boosted their price objective on AZZ from $89.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on AZZ in a report on Friday, June 14th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $95.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total transaction of $27,638.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,121.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Tara D. Mackey sold 331 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.50, for a total value of $27,638.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,229 shares in the company, valued at $2,858,121.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Bryan Lee Stovall sold 14,545 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.79, for a total value of $1,233,270.55. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 20,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,695,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 1,511 shares of company stock valued at $52,794. 2.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

AZZ Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of AZZ stock opened at $81.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.28 and a current ratio of 1.89. The company has a market capitalization of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.53, a PEG ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.24. AZZ Inc. has a 52-week low of $43.48 and a 52-week high of $88.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.95.

AZZ (NYSE:AZZ) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 10th. The industrial products company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $413.21 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.25 million. AZZ had a return on equity of 17.08% and a net margin of 7.22%. AZZ’s quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.14 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that AZZ Inc. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AZZ Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 10th. AZZ’s payout ratio is 63.55%.

About AZZ

AZZ Inc provides hot-dip galvanizing and coil coating solutions in North America. It offers metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot-dip galvanizing, spin galvanizing, powder coating, anodizing, and plating to steel fabrication and other industries, as well as to fabricators or manufacturers that provide services to the transmission and distribution, bridge and highway, petrochemical, and general industrial markets; and original equipment manufacturers.